The present invention is related to a lathe tool that is configured to allow sufficient clearance for engaging a flywheel with a large diameter.
It is well known that a flywheel is a rotating mechanical device that is used to store rotational energy. Flywheels have a significant moment of inertia and thus resist changes in rotational speed. The amount of energy stored in a flywheel is proportional to the square of its rotational speed. Energy is transferred to a flywheel by applying torque to it, thereby increasing its rotational speed, and hence its stored energy. A flywheel utilizes one side for engaging a clutch plate. This frictional contact surface often goes through much wear and tear along with oxidation degradation.
It is common or flywheels to accumulate surface rust, debris, and other forms of oxidation during their lifetime. Though, for clutch flywheels, only one side needs to be resurfaced. Resurfacing the flywheel includes removing a thin layer of metal from the surface, and often applying an anti-rust composition. Additionally, a warped or unsymmetrical flywheel can be reworked to provide a planar surface sufficient for operation. A lathe is often used to resurface the damaged side of the flywheel, rotating the flywheel on an axis as the corrupted surface engages a hard cutting tool.
Often, a lathe is a machine tool which rotates the fly wheel on its axis to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, or deformation, facing, turning, with tools that are applied to the flywheel to create an object which has symmetry about an axis of rotation. The lathe often has a U-shaped clamp where a cutting tool attaches. This configuration allows the work piece to be resurfaced from both sides simultaneously.
In many cases, the configuration of the U-shaped clamp restricts the cutting tool from engaging along the full diameter of the flywheel, from the hub to the perimeter. This is especially the case with larger flywheels having a 24″ diameter and larger. Since flywheels only require resurfacing one side, the U-shaped clamp that resurfaces both sides simultaneously may be unnecessary.
Lathe tools have been used in the machining industry in the past, yet none with the present characteristics of the present invention. See U.S. Patent No. 20130036880; U.S. Pat. No. 8,336,430; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,529.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a lathe tool that can resurface the worn or oxidized portion of a flywheel.